Published on July 28, 2010

Breastfeeding Is the Baby-friendly Way

Asante Health System Hospitals Support World Breastfeeding Week August 1-7

The Asante Health System birth centers at Rogue Valley Medical Center (RVMC) in Medford and Three Rivers Community Hospital (TRCH) in Grants Pass are proud to support World Breastfeeding Week, August 1-7. Staff at both hospitals encourage all mothers to breastfeed their babies.

Babies were born to be breastfed. Studies show that babies who are not breastfed exclusively for the first six months are more likely to develop asthma, allergies, and obesity in childhood. They are also likely to suffer more colds, flu, ear infections, and other respiratory illnesses, and to make more visits to the doctor.*

"Breastfeeding success is achievable with support from your family, medical providers and the community at large,” says lactation consultant Katherine Abdun-Nur, RN, at TRCH.  “We at TRCH Lactation are here to provide the help, information and support you may need both with prenatal instruction, and after birth for as long as you plan to breastfeed your baby."

Breastfeeding is best for your baby, doctors, and lactation experts agree. About 70 percent of U.S. children are breastfed at birth, close to the worldwide average. At RVMC and TRCH, that number is well over 80 percent, which is good news for babies in southern Oregon.

Before 1920, about 80 percent of mothers breast fed, but by the late 1950s the rate had dropped to around 20 percent.

Advocacy groups such as La Leche League, founded in 1956, resisted the trend, and breastfeeding enjoyed a resurgence starting in the 1970s. Eventually the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the British National Health Service, and most major child welfare and development organizations acknowledged it was the best way to nourish an infant.

For more information about breastfeeding your baby, please call the Asante Health System lactation consultants at the following locations:

TRCH

Katherine Abdun-Nur, RN, IBCLC, and Gaea Dichter, RN, IBCLC, at 541-472-7223.

RVMC  

Meg Pearce, RN, IBCLC and Helen Hardman, RN, IBCLC, at 541-789-5984.

Breastfeeding Facts

Babies who are breastfed in the first six months have the following benefits:

• Lower risk of post neonatal death
• Less chance of developing Type 1 or 2 diabetes
• Lower incidence of obesity and asthma

• A marked reduction in almost all viral and bacterial illnesses, including diarrhea, ear infections, and respiratory infections.
• When a mother holds her baby skin-to-skin immediately after birth, it keeps baby warm, regulates its heart and respiratory rate, and baby does not feel pain as acutely.

Mothers who breastfeed have the following benefits:

• A reduction in the risk of at least two types of cancer—ovarian and pre-menopausal breast cancer.
• Reduced incidence of osteoporosis and hip fractures.
• Reduced postpartum depression
• Reduced risk of breast cancer and type 2 diabetes, and of course enhanced emotional bonding.

Societal Benefits:  About 4 billion dollars saved in annual healthcare costs, a more productive workforce because breastfeeding mothers miss less work with healthier babies and it’s better for the environment because there is less trash and plastic waste.

*According to widely accepted research and numerous respected organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.